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Hikers circle Mont Blanc

Considered the most popular long-distance trek in Europe, the Tour du Mont Blanc is a 110-mile route through the Alps circumnavigating the 15,744-foot peak. The trail goes through France, Italy and Switzerland and over passes up to 8,480 feet in elevation. Total elevation gain for the hike is 35,000 feet. These photos follow the Landers family of Spokane as they hike the route, stay at mountain refuges and soak in the culture they experienced during their 12-day muscle-powered adventure. Read the full story.

The Tour du Mont Blanc hiking route in the Alps of France, Italy and Switzerland.

Day 1: The Mont Blanc Tramway arrives at Col de Voza. The "rack and adhesion" mountain railway climbs grades up to 24 percent to ascend from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Le Fayet station (near Chamonix, France) to the Nid d'Aigle station at the Bionnassay glacier on the slopes of Mont Blanc at an altitude of 7,782 feet. Col de Voza is about 2 hours of hiking from les Houches, the usual starting point for the Tour du Mont Blanc. Some hikers use the railway or chairlifts to reach Col de Voza for the start of their Tour du Mont Blanc trip.

Day 1: The view from the first major pass from the Tour de Mont Blanc start in les Houches, France, -- Col de Tricot, elev. 6,955 feet -- looks down a steep descent to the Chalets de Mirage in the valley below Glacier de Miage. The route continues up and down the ridges in the distance toward les Contamines-Montjoie.

Day 1: Cow bells -- some with deep haunting tones -- are on the necks of livestock to help herders keep track of them as they move from pasture area to pasture area along the alpine slopes. The bells are music to the ears of hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 3: Meredith Heick helps here daughter, Hillary Landers, get gloves out of her pack. The hikers had to donn full rain gear during cold, wet weather soaking the Alps as they headed toward the France-Italy border on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 4: Italy's Rifugio Elisabetta stands on a spur overlooking the Vallon de la Lee Blanche and backed by the Glacier d'Estellette and Glacier de la Lee Blanche. It's a popular stop for hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 4: The Tour du Mont Blanc passes through narrow streets in the medieval village of Dolonne, where hand-carved doors spell out history, before hikers head into the skiing and climbing hub of Courmayeur, Italy.

DAY 4: After hiking from Refugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur and then up one of the steeper grades on the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Landers family was more than ready for the four-course dinner at the Refuge Bertone. Here the refuge staff serves the second course, wild mushroom polenta. The refuge is run by the grandaughter of the climber who founded the refuge, which is supplied by helicopter.

DAY 5: With Courmayeur, Italy, in the valley below, the Landers family climbs up from their Day 5 lodging at Refuge Bertone as they continue into the second half of their 11-day trek on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 5: Brook and Hillary Landers descend from a high point at Tete Bernada above lush glaciated valleys down to Col Sapin. They are hiking between Italy's Refuge Bertone and Refuge Bonatti on the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 5: Hillary Landers and Meredith Heick (back center) relax and snack at Refuge Bonatti with the Hoffman family from Israel. The Hoffmans -- from left, Or, Ya'ara, Rachel and Nir -- were among the hikers from many nations who offered cultural enrichment to the American family's experience as they trekked the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 7: Rich Landers couldn't help jumping aboard a zip line at a recreation park for a short break as he descended on the Tour du Mont Blanc as he hiked from the Swiss ski town of la Fouly toward the resort town of Champex.

DAY 8: Hillary Landers hangs laundry after hiking from Champex to Trient in Switzerland on the Tour du Mont Blanc. Hikers wash some of their clothing almost every day to minimize what they carry on the 11-day trek.

DAY 9: The Landers ladies pose among the colorful alpenrose just below the Switzerland-France border at Col de Balme, elev. 7,188 feet. The flowers are common along the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alps.

DAY 9: The Landers ladies trek above the Chamonix Valley toward Tre-le-Champ with Mont Blanc gleaming in the background. The mountain is in constant view on clear days for hikers on this popular stretch of the Tour du Mont Blanc.

DAY 10: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure for hikers looking to prevent blisters as they trek the Tour du Mont Blanc. Meredith Heick tended to her feet religiously, even on the last days of her alpine adventure.

DAY 10: Brook Landers climbs the last of the ladders bolted into the granite cliffs to ascend a notorious section of the Tour du Mont Blanc between Le Brevent and Col du Brevent above the Chamonix Valley.

DAY 12: One final pit stop at a mountain refuge -- Refuge de Bel Lachat -- was a pleasant break in the downhill hiking from high above the Chamonix Valley at Chalet de la Flegere to les Houches on the last day of trekking on the Tour du Mont Blanc.